


Underdog

by soopsoop



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Coming Out, Developing Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Personal Growth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-03-17 11:17:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18964165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soopsoop/pseuds/soopsoop
Summary: Andi and Buffy are at each other's throats again, while Jonah is MIA as usual. Cyrus is tired of being forced to play the mediator in people's fights, especially his best friends'. Why can't someone notice his own struggles for a change?





	1. Another Day, Another Fight

Andi: _I can’t believe she’s still too stuck up to hear me out!_

Buffy: _She just thinks she’s the center of the universe, but what's new there?_

I stared at the messages that had appeared on my phone screen, trying my best to pull some sort of best friend level patience from within myself like I always did. 

This time though, I couldn’t seem to find it. 

I sighed deeply, shoving my phone back into my pocket as I continued walking without bothering to respond. Don’t get me wrong, I loved those two with all my heart. After all, they had been my best friends for as long as I could remember. But through all those years of friendship, I had come to notice some…character flaws.

Andi could be controlling, and a bit insensitive at times. Buffy was extremely competitive, which I guess was good for basketball, but not for best friend problems, especially when paired with her stubbornness. Of course, I could never really hate them for these things, heck, I’ve got several flaws of my own. It’s just, when they clash, I’m forced to choose a side.

I hate choosing sides.

Normally, disputes between them were minor. I could be the bridge between my two friends, helping to find a compromise, and the ordeal would be over in a few days. That, I could handle. What I couldn’t handle was a two-week long (and counting) argument over an assignment they were working on together, the work being due in a few days with both of them now trying to start over do the whole thing on their own.

I was so lost in thought that I almost tripped over as the ground below me abruptly transitioned from solid concrete to loose wood chips. Looking up, I realized I had arrived at a familiar set of blue swings. Funny, I didn’t even remember wanting to go there, but I was grateful for where I had ended up. As I sat down, I felt my nerves calm a bit, my head beginning to clear as I started swinging myself gently. The swings had become a safe place of sorts; a place for me to silently vent to the universe whenever I needed to. A place of comfort. Normally, I was able to have them to myself; not many younger children stayed here past 7:00 in the evening, and besides me, most other kids my age wouldn’t be caught dead here at all.

“Underdog! There you are!”

Well, except for one.

“I figured you’d be here!” he called out as he approached me from behind. TJ was the only other person I knew who came to this park after he'd seen me here. It had been awkward at first, but we slowly warmed up to each other. We weren't particularly close, but we talked every now and then. 

“Dude, I really need your help! There’s this math test in a few days, and I need help studying ‘cause I’m kind of not getting anything right now. Buffy's been ignoring my texts and stuff – classic Driscoll move – so I figured you were the next best thing. And I’ve been doing my homework and stuff, I swear! I just…”

His voice trailed off as he noticed I still hadn’t turned to greet him. He came closer, crouching down in front of me to better examine my face.

“Woah, Cyrus, you good?” 

“Huh?” I blinked, still not fully processing what was happening around me. “Oh yeah, yeah, I – ” 

Snapping out of my thoughts, I finally registered the blond boy in front of me, concern plastered on his face.

“T-TJ!”

“Um...yeah, that would be me.”

“Sorry, I-I totally zoned out there for a bit. You, uh, you needed help with something?”

“Dude, forget that, what's the matter?”

“Don't worry about it, it's nothing. I'm sure your thing is more important anyway…”

TJ looked at me skeptically, clearly not buying into my blatant lie. 

“Cyrus…” he pushed, his tone gentle and laced with worry. I was taken aback by the fact that he actually seemed to care. 

“It's dumb, really,” I began, the other boy giving me a look that urged me to keep going. I decided to just trust him, seeing as I didn't exactly have anyone else to turn to at the moment. “But... it's Andi and Buffy. They're having this fight over a project they're working on, and I kind of got trapped in the middle of it. Again.”

I glanced at TJ, searching for any indication of boredom. Instead, he actually looked interested, as if he was willing to keep listening to me vent. Well, not even “as if”, he genuinely seemed willing. 

“I don't know,” I continued “I just feel that they keep getting so caught up in their own issues that mine get swept under the rug. Like, I've always been there to support them one hundred percent and help as much as I can, but it's getting really stressful. I mean, I have my own stuff to deal with, y’know? But of course, no one's ever available to help with that.”

He remained quiet for a bit, and a silence fell between us, though somehow it wasn't strangely awkward. I searched his eyes for a reaction, waiting for him to say something. 

“Wow, that...that really sucks. I'm sorry that's happening to you.” he replied slowly. I studied his expression, trying to read into his thoughts. Though his response was somewhat generic – a cut and paste sympathy reply for most people – he seemed to really mean it. There was no sense of disinterest in his words, and it felt good knowing my concerns weren't falling on deaf ears for once. 

“Thanks,” I smiled softly “That means a lot.”

Ok, ok, I know, I gave him a generic answer too, but cut me some slack here! I’m not exactly known for being socially adept. Besides, it’s totally his fault, appearing out of nowhere and catching me off guard like that. 

“Hey, um...listen,” he started. He hesitated for a bit before gently gripping my arm. His gaze quickly drifted to the ground, then darted to my shoes before finally focusing on my eyes. “If you ever, uh...if you ever wanna talk about...anything...you can always come to me. I’m all ears, ok?”

“Yeah,” I replied “Thanks. That’d be nice.” 

He smiled warmly, getting up from the wood chips and taking a seat on the swing next to mine. After a few minutes of a surprisingly comfortable silence, I spoke up again.

“So uh, what was it you wanted to ask me about?”

“Huh?”

“Why did you come here to see me?”

“Oh yeah, that. You sure you’re ok now? I can just get help from Buffy or something.”

“I’ll be fine for now. Besides,” I chuckled lightly “I don’t think she’ll be much help to you right now.”

I hoped my slight downer of a joke hadn’t dampened the mood, but I relaxed as I saw a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

“Heh, I guess you’re right about that. Well, I could really use some math tutoring. There’s a test soon, and as of right now, I’m...ah...kind of screwed. Think you can help a friend out?”

I paused for a second, taking in what he had just said. 

A friend.

For some reason, hearing that word come from his mouth caused a strange feeling in my stomach. 

“I – ” I paused.

Why did I feel weird all of a sudden? He had just stated the obvious. We were friends after all, right?

“Yeah, for sure,” I managed, forcing my thoughts to subside enough for me to respond properly. “You wanna come over to my place after school tomorrow? We can focus on studying there.”

“Sounds good,” he replied, breaking out into a huge grin. “You’re the best, Underdog!”

He started to get up from the swing, then seemed to remember something.

“Hey, can you hand me your phone for a sec?”

“Uh...sure?”

I unlocked it for him, watching as he quickly typed out something before handing it back to me, a wide smile on his face. I glanced down at the screen, realizing that he’d just given me his number. Surprised and honestly a bit flustered, I looked back up at the blond boy.

“If you ever need to talk.” Was it just me, or did a hint of pink spread across his cheeks as he said that? I wrote it off as just being the cold evening air. After all, why would he have any reason to blush?

I pushed my thoughts aside again, trying to thank him. I hoped my face was conveying my appreciation, because my voice suddenly decided to get stuck in my throat. He seemed to understand, nodding at me before getting up.

“See you tomorrow then, Underdog.”

\--------------------------

I lay in bed, unable to sleep. Had that whole thing really just happened? I mean, not that it was anything particularly jarring, just...different. Especially for TJ. To give him credit, his attitude had changed drastically since Buffy had first introduced him to me. He used to completely shut everyone out, and I was glad to see him being a bit more open. Even then though, I never really saw myself being super close with him. We just seemed too different from each other. 

That is, until that little bit he pulled today. What shocked me the most was his willingness to listen. To sit and listen without feeling the need to interrupt. Even my best friends couldn't be bothered to make time for me, but along comes TJ. A guy I kind of knew who came to me with his own problem, but was willing to hear out mine. That was...kind of him. Unexpected, but kind nonetheless. 

He really had changed.

I smiled to myself, grateful that a new friend had entered my life, especially now when I really needed one. I attempted to drift off to sleep for another ten minutes before giving up and grabbing my phone instead. I searched through my (admittedly short) list of contacts, finding the one TJ had set earlier. I hesitated for a moment before I began typing.

Me: _Hey_

Not even a minute had passed before I received a reply. 

TJ: _Hey_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not the most creative premise, I know, but I'll try to let this story go somewhere more interesting, I promise!


	2. Lunchtime Chat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cyrus starts talking to TJ more while he avoids Andi and Buffy. Maybe the blond can provide him with some better company.

I slowly trudged through the school hallway, walking around in a daze and unsure of where to sit. After TJ had replied to me the night before, we ended up talking for a few hours before finally going to bed. Needless to say, I was pretty tired. At the moment, I didn’t have the mental capacity to figure out who to spend lunch with. I had passed the cafeteria earlier, hoping that maybe my friends were somehow done being mad at each other, and were all sitting together, laughing and having fun as they always did. 

No such luck.

Andi was sitting by herself at our usual table, and I had seen Buffy in the gym aggressively tossing a basketball against the wall. Meanwhile, Jonah was – not surprisingly – nowhere to be found. I guess they hadn’t worked things out yet. I settled on sitting under some trees beside the school. The weather outside was nice enough, not too cold, though there was a slight breeze. As I sat there eating, a familiar figure came into view beside me.

“Yo, Underdog! Is that you?”

“Oh, hey TJ. Good to see you,” I muttered, realizing that my response had come out much more sarcastic than I had intended it to. “I mean – sorry, I’m just kind of tired. We did stay up pretty late last night talking, so…” 

TJ looked at me for a bit, one eyebrow raised, before letting a small chuckle escape his lips.

“What’s so funny?” 

“Dude, we stopped texting at, like, 11.” he covered his mouth with one hand, trying to stop himself from laughing more.

“Hey! 11 o’ clock is pretty late!” I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest and pretending to be offended. “Besides, I normally go to bed at 9.”

“Ok, ok,” he laughed, sitting down beside me. “Sorry for bugging you about it. So anyway, what’re you doing out here by yourself?”

“My friends aren’t sitting together,” I sighed “And I didn’t really feel like talking to any of them right now anyway.”

“Oh, right…” he seemed to slump a bit, his smile fading slightly. “S-sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“No, no, it’s totally fine.” I reassured him “I’m not feeling that bad right now. I just needed some space from them is all.”

“You sure you’re doing ok?” 

I nodded in reply. 

“Cool,” he said, his grin returning to his face. He leaned into me, bumping my shoulder with his. “I guess I’ll just have to keep you company then.” 

Somehow, that split second of contact had confused my body, because I suddenly forgot how to speak. What the heck? It was just a small, friendly shoulder tap, barely anything. There was no reason for me to feel as weird as I did about it.

“Woah, you cold or something?”

The sound of TJ’s voice snapped me back out of my head. Had he really just confused my bodily dysfunction for being cold? 

“Yeah, kinda.” I lied, deciding that playing along would be easier than having to explain my sudden silence. 

“Here, you can wear this.” he said, pulling his hoodie over his head and handing it to me.

“Wh-wha? N-no, no, it’s fine, take it back. I’ll be ok.”

He frowned, starting to put it back on before opting to take it off again and drape it over my shoulders.

“Hey!”

“I can’t have you dying on me from the cold, Underdog. That good for now?”

“Thanks.” I nodded.

We sat quietly for a bit, looking over the school field before TJ broke the silence.

“So if you feel fine sharing with me, what’s on your mind?”

“What do you mean?”

“You mentioned yesterday that the whole Andi vs Buffy thing made you feel like you were being ignored. Like your problems weren’t important and all that? So what’s up? Anything bugging you lately?”

“Oh, I…” I paused momentarily, wondering how I would answer. I told myself not to let too much slip, that it might weird him out or something. I decided to just make up a problem.

“Well, I’m trying to get over this crush…” Well, shoot. There goes that. This was, in fact, 100% true. For some months now, I’d had a crush on none other than Jonah Beck. The same Jonah Beck that I hadn’t seen in a few weeks. I kept trying to tell myself that it was because of the Andi/Buffy drama, but I couldn’t help but wonder if he had somehow figured my secret out, and was purposely avoiding me. 

I noticed TJ stiffen beside me. I mentally kicked myself. Was it really that bad? I thought having crushes was a normal thing. That being said, the nature of my crush didn’t seem all that normal to me, but he didn’t even know who it was!

“Ok…that’s, uh...that’s cool,” he said slowly “Um, if you don’t mind me asking, who might this person be?”

“I...sorry, I actually don’t feel too ready to say that yet. Is that ok?”

He breathed in deeply, directing his gaze to anywhere except for my eyes. 

“O-oh, yeah,” he muttered “That’s fine. Sorry I asked.” 

He shook his head before looking back to face me. The smile had returned to his face, though it seemed a little...sad? Forced?

“Well, I think what you need is a distraction.”

I blinked at him, unsure of what he meant. Sensing my confusion, he continued. 

“Y’know, something to keep your mind off of her.”

Her.

Of course he assumed it was a girl, what was I thinking? I was talking to the captain of the basketball team, former bully, dirtbike rider, freaking TJ Kippen for crying out loud! He would be the last person I’d suspect to catch on to my secret. 

I didn’t know if that was something I was happy or sad about. 

“Yeah, a distraction…” I managed “Sounds good.”

“Well, I hope you find something, Underdog.” he said, getting up from the grass. “Anyway, I’ve got to run off to class. Catch you later!”

He walked towards the school, turning around briefly to wave at me. The moment he disappeared into the building, it felt as though I was releasing a breath I had been holding for too long. Why had that been so weird? It was just a normal conversation, but why did I feel so...strange?

I shook my thoughts out of my head, starting to pack up my stuff when I noticed TJ’s hoodie still on my shoulders. Oops. I guess I had just forgotten I had it. I sighed, deciding to wear it until I could give it back to him later. I slipped it over my head, immediately shocked by how warm and soft it was. Ok, ok, I probably should've expected it to be warm, considering that’s what its made for and all, but hey, I went to bed at 11, remember? I grabbed the rest of my things and hurried off to my next class before I was late.

\--------------------------

I dragged myself over to my locker, trying my hardest not to trip on the way there. Why was I feeling so drained? Well, at least it was the end of the day. I couldn’t wait to get home and just sit on the couch to relax and –

“How’s it going, Underdog? You ready to go?”

Wha...?

I turned around to TJ jogging over to me from across the hall like an overexcited puppy. Man, had he always been that cute? I instantly felt myself blush at the thought, and quickly shoved my face in my locker to hopefully hide from him. 

“T-TJ! Uh, yeah, yeah, for sure!” I stuttered, trying to process what he had just said. “Um...where is it we’re going again?”

“Over to y…” his voice trailed off as he got closer to me. Oh, what now? Was something wrong? Did I sound too sarcastic again? Did I look weird with my head stuck in my locker?

“Hey, you’re wearing my hoodie!”

“Oh, this?” I replied, standing up normally as I felt the heat in my face start to subside. “Sorry, I forgot to give it back to you earlier. Here, you can –”

“Nah, keep it! It looks good on you.”

With that comment, I was sure my cheeks were beet red again, but I managed to keep myself composed enough to not spontaneously combust. 

“O-oh, thanks. You sure though?”

“Yeah, it’s fine, I’ve got other ones at home.” 

I let out a quiet sigh of relief. I honestly thought I had messed something up there, but it was just about his hoodie. Thank goodness I hadn't forgotten something important or anything like that.

“So anyway, we’re going over to your place, right? To study?”

_WHAT?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently Cyrus is completely out of it when he's lost a few hours of sleep.


	3. Study Session

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TJ goes to Cyrus' house to get some help studying for his math test, and they end up getting more comfortable around each other.

Shoot, I had completely forgotten! I guess my shock registered to him as something else, as he seemed to deflate while trying (but ultimately failing) to remain upbeat. His shoulders slumped, and he frowned at me.

“Is now not a good time? I totally get it, we can just reschedule for later.”

Dang, he even looked good when he was upset. Lucky. Not that I wanted him to be upset!

“No, no, it’s fine! Sorry, I was just out of it for a bit.” At that, he seemed to perk up again. “Just let me grab my things and we can go.”

He broke out into a huge grin.

“Alright, sounds good.” 

\--------------------------

_He’s really close._

After arriving at my house, TJ and I had talked for a bit before starting to work in my room. We decided to just sit on the floor to give us more space, which brought us to our current situation. We were sitting facing each other, his math textbook and notebook between us. My parents were both still at work, so there was no one to disrupt us. Focused on a geometry problem, he was staring down at his work. Can I just say, he looked really cute concentrating so hard like that. He was close enough that his hair almost brushed my forehead each time he shifted positions, and I swore I could almost hear the gears turning in his head. I took in his faint scent of...vanilla? Huh, I had been expecting some gross, piercing body spray or cologne or something (excuse me for stereotyping a bit here), but I guess TJ was just full of surprises. I wondered briefly if he could hear my thoughts, beginning to panic for a few seconds, but if he could, he gave no indication of being able to do so.

“Ok, ok, let me try again.” he said, erasing the answer to a problem he’d been working on.

“Remember to write down each angle after you’ve solved it so you don’t have to keep them all in your head; it’ll make it easier.”

“Got it. Write stuff down.” he replied, and I sensed a bit of light-hearted sarcasm in his voice.

“Ah, I see how it’s going to be. Fine, then I guess you wouldn’t mind finishing the rest of the questions by yourself.”

“Nonono please keep helping me!” he laughed “I’m sorry!”

“That’s what I thought.” I smiled “Alright, so if this angle here is 147°, then this one has to be…”

“Fourty...no, 33°?”

“Yeah! So now that you know this angle here, this third one in the triangle is…”

I watched him quickly scribble out a calculation.

“57°?”

“Because…?”

“Because we already know that this one here is 90°, and the interior angles have to add up to 180°.”

“Yeah, that’s it! See? I barely helped you with that one. Ok, now try this question.” I said, pointing to a slightly harder problem at the bottom of the page. He nodded, and I watched as he wrote down some numbers, mumbling to himself, his brow furrowing in concentration. Having finished, he looked up at me expectantly. I had been leaning in to check his work, and when he looked up, our noses were almost touching. I jerked my head back reflexively, looking a little flustered, but I busied myself with going over his answer before I could make a fool of myself.

“Yes! You got it!”

He smiled at me triumphantly. He looked so adorable right then, and I wanted to just wrap my arms around him in a big hug, but I stopped myself.

 _No, you can’t do that,_ I scolded myself _It’ll be weird. Don’t ruin the moment. Literally the one thing you’re an expert at is going unnoticed, and that would be great right about now. Huh, that’s kind of depressing actually..._

“Um, Cyrus? Did you want to take a break, or…?”

“What?” I forced myself out of my thoughts, focusing on the boy who, unfortunately for my heart rate, was still less than an inch away. He shifted awkwardly in his spot, fidgeting with his pencil and avoiding looking directly into my eyes. 

_So much for going unnoticed._

“Uh, y-yeah, yeah, sure,” I fumbled, getting up from my bedroom floor a little too quickly “Let’s take a break.”

Though TJ seemed to relax, I also sensed a bit of disappointment from him as I put more distance between us, going over to sit on my bed. 

“Hey, can I ask you something?” he said suddenly, looking up at me.

“Oh, uh...sure,” I replied “What is it?”

“Well, I – um, earlier you,” he quickly cut himself off “Nevermind, it’s weird.”

“No, it’s fine,” I reassured him “I won’t think it’s weird. I promise.”

He glanced back at me, hesitating momentarily.

“Well, earlier today you said you were trying to get over someone? I was just wondering if you were –” he stopped himself again “I mean, uh, have you found a distraction yet?”

“Oh, I...haven’t thought about it yet, actually.” I thought for a moment “I guess it could be you.”

“H-huh?” I looked over to where he sat on the floor. Was he blushing? The words that had slipped out of my mouth just seconds ago suddenly registered in my head.

“No, no, n-not in a weird way or anything! I just meant that, y’know, my other friends can’t really help me in that department right now and I’ll be helping you with math and all so I guess I’ll be spending more time with you. That is, if you need more help with anything. I mean, I’m not trying to force you into anything so if you don’t need any more help, that’s fine...”

Having finished my awkward, half-mumbled rant, I forced myself to face TJ to gauge his reaction. Ok, now he was definitely blushing (and I was sure I was too, considering the nonsense that just spilled out from me), but I noticed a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Despite looking so flustered, he managed a laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, nothing,” he replied, calming himself down “I can totally be your distraction, if that’s what you want.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me, and I covered my face with my hands to hide my embarrassment.

“Ugh, shut up!” I complained, though I was giggling too “You know what I meant!”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. And don’t worry, I’ve got your back, Underdog.”

I uncovered my face, meeting his eyes. I smiled at him, and he accepted my silent show of gratitude, smiling back at me.

“Ok, now let me ask you something.”

“Fire away.”

“How do you do it?”

“You’re gonna have to be a little more specific.” he chuckled.

“Be so confident, I mean. It seemed kind of awkward for a bit after random words spewed from my mouth, but you recovered almost instantly. How?”

He thought about it for a bit before responding.

“I guess you just gotta say what’s on your mind. Honesty is the best policy and all that, y’know? I really do think communication is key, as cheesy as it sounds.”

_Communication is key._

Taking in what he had said, I realized he was right. Maybe that’s why I could never get through to my friends; I had just been too scared to communicate my feelings to them clearly. If I could get them to listen to what I had to say, maybe we could fix things.

“Yeah, I think I know what you mean.”

We sat there for a few minutes in silence, smiling at one another. 

“So um, do you think we should get back to work?” I said finally.

“Oh, right. Yeah, sounds good.”

I made my way over to him, sitting down in front of him again, though this time, it didn’t feel nearly as awkward as it had before.

“Ok, so now we’re gonna look at the Pythagorean theorem.”

\--------------------------

“Alright, I think that’s everything!”

TJ let out a sigh of relief, finally getting to close his books. I helped him gather his things, walking him to the front door.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay for dinner?” I asked as he put his shoes on “I’m sure my parents won’t mind. They’ll be here soon anyway.”

“Nah, it’s cool. My mom wants me to be home soon. Thanks though.” he paused for a moment before continuing “And thanks for helping me study. I really do feel more prepared for this test.”

“Yeah, it’s no problem! If you want, we can quickly go over the content again tomorrow. Your test is the day after that, right?”

“Yup. And yeah, that would be great. Well, I really gotta run, but thanks again. For everything.”

“I should be the one thanking you! You give surprisingly good advice.”

“Ouch, why do I feel like you just complimented me and dissed me at the same time?”

I laughed, pushing him out the door.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, TJ.” 

“See you tomorrow, Underdog.”

He smiled at me one more time before heading off down the sidewalk. I watched him go until he disappeared behind a row of houses, then turned back into my house and closed the door behind me, sighing deeply. Thank goodness, I had done it! I had just spent the whole afternoon with TJ without making a complete fool of myself. He had also given some pretty solid advice, which was a plus. 

_Speaking of which…_

Arriving back in my room, I pulled my phone out of my pocket, finding Andi’s number, then Buffy’s, texting them both the same thing.

Me: _Hey, can we talk?_


	4. Can We Talk?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cyrus decides to finally confront Andi and Buffy.

Andi: _For sure, but can it just be the two of us? I don’t think Buffy’s ready to apologize to me yet._

Buffy: _Andi had better not be there_

Well, apparently they still weren’t on speaking terms, but meeting them individually would have to be good enough. I just needed to talk some sense into them; make them finally listen to me. I mean, they were my best friends, and they cared about me, right?

I sighed, scheduling separate times to meet them. I would meet Andi before school in the cafeteria, and Buffy in the gym during lunch. Ugh, I hated how this sounded like some sort of business meeting! I just hoped I would be able to get through to them.

\--------------------------

“So Cyrus, what’s up? This is about Buffy, isn’t it?”

I had just sat across a cafeteria table from Andi when she immediately assumed this. 

“Well...yes and no.” I replied slowly.

“I knew it!” she scowled “Why is she being so annoying? Is it so hard for her to just –”

“It’s also about you.” I interrupted. I figured that I’d have to get my point across soon if I wanted to at all. Andi was known to be quite talkative, and conversations with her could sometimes be a bit...one-sided. 

That definitely got her attention. The expression on her face softened, and she leaned closer to me from across the table, her eyes searching mine.

“What do you mean?”

“Andi,” I bit my lip nervously “This fight between you two has been going on for weeks now, and I’ve been in the middle of it the whole time!”

Andi seemed like she was about to say something, but she stopped herself. I took this as my cue to continue.

“Since the two of you can’t stand to even talk to each other, I’ve been playing messenger in this whole mess, and it’s kind of – actually, it’s really been stressing me out! I know this is hard for both of you, and I get that you need some time to think it over and stuff, but could you maybe leave me out of it while you do so? You guys are my best friends, and I hate having to side with just one of you in this. I’ll still be here to support you whenever you need it, but I’d prefer not having to be the middleman in these situations anymore.”

Andi stared at me, mouth hanging slightly open in shock as I finished rambling. She got up, coming over to my side of the table to sit down beside me, and pulled me into a big hug.

“Cyrus,” she began, her voice a little shaky “I’m so sorry. I had no idea you were feeling this way.”

“It’s ok,” I replied pulling away from the hug to look her in the eye “I’m not mad at you. But please, talk to Buffy when you’re ready. I know you guys don’t need me to be able to work through this. I’m still here if you need to talk.”

She nodded, smiling at me, and pulled me back into the hug. Realizing how tense I’d just been, I relaxed into her embrace. I was surprised with how well she’d taken my confrontation; quite honestly, I had expected her to be a little more defensive. We spent a few more minutes talking before it was time to head off to our first period classes. We waved goodbye, and I began mentally preparing myself to talk to Buffy.

\--------------------------

“Alright Cyrus, what’s this about?” Buffy came over to where I was sitting on the bleachers “Andi’s been texting me that she wants to talk. Why do I have a feeling that you’re involved in this?”

“Please, Buffy, hear her out.”

“Why should I?”

I sighed, telling her the same thing I had told Andi earlier. As I talked, I watched her body language change drastically. She had started with her arms folded across her chest, her face set in a grimace. As I continued, the look on her face began to soften, her arms slowly falling to her sides to grip the seat below her. When I was done, she didn’t say anything at first, but scooted closer to me and threw her arms around me in a tight hug. 

“I’m sorry I made you feel that way,” she said softly “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“I –” I hesitated for a moment “I guess I was just scared to say something. I didn’t want to make the situation worse.”

She looked straight into my face, looking horrified with herself. 

“Cyrus, please don’t ever be afraid to talk to me. I’m so sorry you were going through that by yourself, but thank you for telling me.”

Once again, I was struck by how easily she’d accepted what I had to say, even more so than when I had talked to Andi earlier that day. But I realized that, despite this whole situation, they were still my best friends. It was never their intention to hurt me; they had just made a mistake. One that, evidently, they felt bad about. 

“Ok, I’ll talk to her. But just know that this is more for you than it is for her.”

She smiled at me gently before patting me on the back and standing up. 

“C’mon,” she said “Let’s go eat. I’m starving!”

I couldn’t help but smile back. At least there was _some_ kind of progress happening. 

\--------------------------

A few days had passed, and I was now sitting with Andi and Buffy at our usual table in the cafeteria, eating lunch and laughing at a cat video Andi was showing us. Any indication of tension between my two best friends had almost completely disappeared, and I was so relieved that the Good Hair Crew was back together. Though, it was weird that there was still no sign of Jonah anywhere. I had passed him in the hallway occasionally, but never got the chance to talk to him. I knew the others were wondering about it too, but they didn’t bring it up. Buffy was just catching me up on how their project had ended up when her voice trailed off. Both her and Andi had confused stares on their faces, looking somewhere beyond my face. I was about to ask what was wrong when I felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning around, I was greeted by the smiling face of none other than TJ Kippen.

“Hey, Underdog. Mind if I sit here?”

I nodded quickly, patting the space beside me for him to sit down. Andi and Buffy were looking at him skeptically, but didn’t say anything, and Buffy slowly got back to telling her story. As she spoke, I thought I felt TJ glance my way a few times, but I tried not to react and listen to Buffy instead. Finally, it was time to get back to class, and TJ left first, waving at us as he went. I was packing up my stuff when Andi and Buffy each grabbed one of my arms.

“What just happened?” Andi asked incredulously.

“Yeah, since when do you talk to Kippen?” asked Buffy, raising an eyebrow.

“We started talking more often pretty recently actually,” I replied, shrugging my shoulders and pretending to be nonchalant about the whole thing “When you guys...well, you know.”

Andi mouthed a silent “oh”, and Buffy nodded her understanding.

“He was actually the one who encouraged me to talk to you about it.”

“No way,” Buffy’s eyes went wide “TJ Kippen gave _you_ advice?”

“Trust me, I was surprised too.”

I felt my face warming up at the memory of that afternoon, and I averted my gaze from my friends’ faces. They gave each other a look, before turning their full attention back to me.

“And…?”

“Huh?” I replied, blinking in confusion.

“Is there anything else we should know about TJ?”

My face was definitely bright red now. I knew what they were getting at, and I turned away, trying to hide how flustered I was.

“I, uh...might have a bit of a crush on him…”

Andi squealed, grabbing my hand and smiling so wide I thought her head would explode. Buffy was more calm, but I could tell she was also excited.

“You guys can’t say anything though, seriously. I haven’t mentioned anything to him yet.”

“Well obviously not,” Buffy teased “You were so tense the whole time he was here I thought you had turned into stone.”

Andi giggled beside her.

“But don’t worry,” she said “Your secret’s safe with us.”

I smiled at them before we parted ways to our next classes. Despite my embarrassment at what we had just discussed, I was so glad our friend group was (mostly) back together. Most of all, I was so thankful to have such caring friends who were willing to hear me out, once I had the courage to confront them, that is.

I would have to remember to thank a certain basketball team captain later for making it all happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This kind of feels like the end of the story, but I do still have a little bit more planned out for an epilogue bit!


	5. Communication is Key

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TJ shows Cyrus his test score, and Cyrus takes TJ's advice even further.

“Don’t worry TJ, take your time.”

It had been a couple of days since I had told Andi and Buffy about my crush on TJ, and it had only grown since then. About twenty minutes earlier, at the end of another school day, TJ had come running up to me at my locker, effectively startling me half to death.

\--------------------------

_”TJ?” I had asked, noticing how anxious he looked, “Is something wrong?”_

_“No, no, it’s just that we got our math tests back. You know, the geometry one you helped me study for?”_

_“Oh, awesome! How’d you do?”_

_“I, uh...I haven’t looked at it yet. I folded it up as soon as I got it.” he had said, rubbing the back of his neck slowly, “I kind of wanted to see it with you, since you helped so much…”_

\--------------------------

How could I refuse? So there we were, sitting on my bedroom floor the same way we had been when we were studying, TJ holding his upside down test apprehensively. I was so honoured that he had wanted me to see his mark at the same time as he did; I had definitely been a little red-faced when he suggested it. It didn’t help that we were doing it at my house, either. Ever since I had studied with him, TJ had started visited my place more frequently. My parents had become more comfortable with him around, though they were still a bit wary of having me alone with someone who looked like they could throw me out the window at any given moment. For some reason, even with him coming by more often, I still hadn’t gotten used to it. The butterflies in my stomach had a full-out rave each time he stepped into my house. 

This boy was going to be the death of me.

“Yeah, but what if I failed again?”

“Don’t worry,” I reassured him, “I’ll be here for you no matter what you get.”

TJ nodded, taking a deep breath before quickly flipping over the page. He ran his hands through his hair as his eyes fell on the grade written in red ink at the top of the page.

C+.

His eyes widened with excitement, and he looked up at me, a lopsided grin plastered on his face. I couldn’t help but smile along with him.

“I did it! I actually didn’t fail!”

“TJ,” I beamed, “I’m so proud of you! I knew you c–!”

He cut me off, pulling me into a tight hug and laughing into my shoulder. I would've reciprocated it, except that my brain suddenly decided to cease all functioning. My face turned bright red almost immediately, and I had to channel all of my willpower to force my arms to return the hug. TJ seemed to notice how stiff I had become as he pulled away from me, blushing just as hard as I was. We both sat in silence for a minute, staring at each other in shock before TJ finally spoke up.

“I – I, uh,” TJ fumbled with his words, which I honestly found quite endearing, “Sorry, I just got really excited, I couldn’t have done it without your help, so thanks, but, uh, I don’t know why I did that and…”

“TJ, don’t worry about it,” I replied, finding my voice, “It’s totally fine. I liked it actually.”

“Oh, really?” he said, looking up at me hopefully, his face still beet red.

“Really.”

I couldn’t believe this was happening. Maybe I was judging his reaction wrong, but it did make it seem like maybe...maybe he…

No. 

I couldn’t be sure just yet; I had to do a bit more prying first. I silently prayed that he wouldn’t react too harshly, that what I was about to say wouldn’t ruin our friendship.

“So anyway, I wanted to give you a follow up on...y’know...my crush I mentioned before?”

TJ looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to continue.

“I just wanted you to know that… it was Jonah.”

I watched as his eyes grew wide, his mouth dropping open slightly as what I had just said registered to him.

“Is, um...is that ok?”

“Wh-what? O-oh yeah, yeah, that’s totally cool!” he replied, pretending to be calm but failing miserably. I didn’t think his face could turn any redder than it had before, but it did. “So, um...just to clarify, this was that crush you were trying to get over, right? Like, you’re not really into him anymore? Not that it matters, I was just wondering…” 

His voice trailed off until it was barely a whisper. 

Oh. My. Gosh.

He was jealous.

TJ Kippen was jealous of me possibly liking someone else! I sure hoped I was right, because what I planned to do next would’ve been extremely awkward if I wasn’t. I leaned closer to him, and I heard him inhale sharply as I closed the already small distance between us. As I moved, I noticed his gaze dart down to my lips and back to my eyes. 

"Yeah, I think I've gotten over him."

“Uh, C-Cyrus? What are you doing?”

“I’m taking your advice.”

“What advice?” 

By now, our faces were less than an inch apart. I felt his breathing quickening, his eyes searching mine in confusion.

“Communication is key.”

He looked like he was about to say something else, but before he could, I pressed my lips onto his. It was a soft kiss, lasting only a few seconds, but it was all I needed. As I pulled away, TJ’s eyes were so wide I thought they would fall out of his head. His mouth opened and closed a few times as he seemed to try and process what had just happened.

Oops. I think I broke him.

I couldn’t help but giggle at his reaction, covering my mouth with my hand. He slowly joined me, and soon we were both lying on my bedroom floor, laughing at nothing in particular. When we had calmed down, TJ sat up.

“Wow, Cyrus,” he said “That was...unexpected.”

“A good kind of unexpected?”

“The best kind.” he replied, beaming down at me “When did you get so confident?”

I chuckled, sitting up to face him.

“Like I said, I was taking your advice.”

“Damn, I not only got a boyfriend, but one that also listens to my terrible advice? Nice.”

“Boyfriend, huh?”

“O-oh! I mean, if you wanted to, you know, be my boyfriend.”

I smiled at him, thinking how crazy it was how, just over a week ago, he had been someone unattainable; completely out of my reach. Now here we were. 

The universe really does work in mysterious ways. 

I pulled him into another hug, pouring as much of my love and adoration into my touch and my words as I could.

“Of course I do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it! This part did kind of move a little quickly, but I really didn't want to drag it out into more parts because frankly, I'm out of ideas for this story. It did seem to reach a good ending anyway.


End file.
